Musical record.



" J. c, SHERMAN. a MUSICAL RECORD.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.18, 1909.

Patented m, 1912.

'gato.

U N ITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

7 JOHN C. SHERMAN, 0E IBROOKLINE, MASSACBQUSETTS.

MUS CAL new; Q

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed January 18, 1909. Serial No. 473,017.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN G. SHERMAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Brookline, county of Norfolk, State of Ma'ssachusetts, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Musical Records, of-

the piece of music passes from one roll on.

which it is wound to another roll which receives it. It is desirable to produce mechanically not only piano music, but also at the same time and in connection therewith music produced by other instruments or by the human voice, as for example a piano accompaniment with a song, or a violin obli- The violin or other instrument, or voice may be reproduced by means of a phonograph or like instrument as is well known, but so far as known to me it has not hitherto been possible to produce in proper musical relation to each other by mechanical means the piano music and the music of another instrument written to be rendered with the piano music, or the music of the human voice accompanied by the piano. The chief difliculty in accomplishing this object has been the impossibility of perfectly synchronizing the music of the piano with the music from the device reproducing the human voice.

My invention has for its object to produce a record containing perforations corresponding with the notes of a piece of music by the employment of which a piano may be mechanically played and which perforated strip or ribbon shall also contain a record by the employment of which in connection with a phonograph or like instrument the music of another instrument or of the human voice may be reproduced so that the sounds by both instruments shall be in proper musical relation to each other, that is so that theyshall be reproduced in the same relation as when they are produced together by skilled artists.

For the production of a record embodying my inventlon, I prefer to use a ribbon or Eastm n; 2', 1912..

flexible strip of metal and form therein perforations corresponding with the piece of music to be playedby the'p'iano but so arranged thatthe strip'must travel faster than do the'ordinary perforated strips orrecords which have hitherto been-employedzin mechanical piano players. This quicker movement of the record is desirable because of A the greater speed at which it is necessary for a pho'nographic record to move, whichf'is ordinarily greater than the speed of-the perforated record of a piano player. The increased speed however at which it is necessary to move the piano playerrecord is'compensated for in my record by properly locating'and forming the perforations.

While'I have described in this specification a piano player record which is provided with holes or perforations my invention is not limited to the employment of such records since it is obvious that other equivalent records may be employed if desired, such for instance, as those provided with raised or embossed projections in place of theholes or perforations.

The invention will be fully understood from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, and the novel features "thereof are pointed out and clearly defined in the claim at the close of this specification.

The drawing is a plan view of a record embodying my invention.

Referring to the drawing, at A is indicated the body of the record, having cut or otherwise suitably formed therein the holes or perforations B by means of which the mechanical piano player is set in operation. It will be noticedthat these perforations are made longer and are separated longitudinally by greater distances than are the perforations in ordinary piano player records. This arrangement is made to compensate for the increased speed at which the record travels. This rate of speed is constant or substantially so and changes in tempo are produced by the proper spacing of the perforations, and by giving to the spaces proper lengths which will vary with the changes in tempo, the music being always played as written on the record during such portion thereof as the obligato, is being played.

On one edge or margin of the strip or record I form an irregular surface or line of indentations C which coiiperate with the needle of the phonograph and cause the phonograph to reproduce the sounds which were originally employed to make the irregular surface or indentations. The phonographic instrument is set in any convenient,

position with relation to my record to permit the needle to cooperate with the phonographic record thereon.

I have mentioned a ribbon or strip of metal as employed in the manufacture of my record, but various other well known materials may be employed in place thereof, notably, a ribbon made from a pyroxylin compound, such for example as Xylonite, or the ordinary card board strip such as is used in the manufacture of records for piano players may be employed, the margin or edge of the strip designed to receive the phonographic record being preferably formed from xylonite, or the like, which is suitably secured to the'paste-board strip.

' In case the record is made from paper in the well known manner, and the phonographic record "upon a ribbon of pyroxylin compound as shown at D in the figure, I

"find it advisable to provide the other side of the record with a similar strip of pyroxylin compound E in order that the record may run true and not over to one side as it is wound from one roll to the other.

By the employment of my record a vocal selection with pianoforte accompaniment or holes at varying spaces and of varying lengths to produce predetermined variations in tempo when the record is run at constant speed, and on another portion thereof a phonographic record, said records being so arranged with relation to each other that the music produced by the operation of the mechanical player and that produced by the phonograph will be in proper musical relation the one to the other.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN C. SHERMAN.

Witnesses:

' GEORGE P. DIKE,

ALIoE H. MORRISON. 

